Republican tax reform plan

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday pressured fellow Republicans working to repeal Obamacare in Congress to pass a replacement for the healthcare law at the same time or soon after they vote to dismantle it. Trump told the New York Times he wanted a substitute for President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law done "very quickly or simultaneously" to the vote to get rid of it. (nyti.ms/2ia9qLk) The law, popularly known as Obamacare, has enabled millions of previously uninsured Americans to obtain health insurance, but Republicans condemn it as a government overreach. With Trump set to succeed Obama on Jan. 20, Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, face a dilemma. They have a chance to make good on their promise to gut the law, but forging an agreement on a replacement plan has eluded them. If Congress does not put in place a substitute, millions of Americans with the insurance may be at risk of losing coverage. The law extended insurance coverage to uninsured … [Read more...] about Trump to Republicans: Act swiftly to replace Obamacare

US President Barack Obama Saturday praised a Wall Street reform law enacted this week and rejected a Republican plan to jump-start the economy, saying it will take the country backward. "Wall Street reform is a key pillar of an overall economic plan we have put in place to dig ourselves out of this recession and build an economy for the long run -- an economy that makes America more competitive and our middle-class more secure," Obama said in his weekly radio address. On Wednesday, the president signed into law the most sweeping reform of the US finance industry since the 1930s, promising US taxpayers would no longer get the bill for Wall Street excess. The legislation, which some Republicans have pledged to repeal, introduces new consumer protections, checks the power of big banks and cracks down on deceptive practices by credit card firms. Seeking to restore public confidence in his economic leadership as unemployment flirts with double digits, Obama said the bill would repair … [Read more...] about Obama praises Wall Street reform, rejects Republican plan

President Barack Obama on Saturday blasted "worn-out" Republican plans to regain control of Congress in upcoming legislative elections, warning they would lead to another "disastrous decade." Reacting for the first time to his political foes' "Pledge for America" agenda unveiled this week, the Democratic president said their ideas were similar to those that plunged the United States into its worst recession in decades. In their manifesto, Republicans vowed to stop "job-killing tax hikes," cut government spending, end bail-outs and repeal health care reforms, laying out a vision aimed at winning over independent voters and energizing the party's base. Obama warned these measures are "grounded in the same worn-out philosophy: cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; cut the rules for Wall Street and the special interests and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself." "That's not a prescription for a better future. It's an echo of a disastrous decade we can't afford to relive," … [Read more...] about Obama blasts Republicans for ‘worn-out’ ideas

The United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced its long-term debt plan, setting a goal to cut 4 trillion U.S. dollars over the next 12 years.
This deficit reduction is a balanced approach to maintaining economic recovery, Obama said in a speech at George Washington University. … [Read more...] about Obama announces long-term debt cutting plan

WASHINGTON - The US Senate unanimously rejected President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget Wednesday and shot down a series of Republican alternatives, assuring a prolonged election-year fiscal battle.
The Democratic-controlled chamber has not adopted in three years a budget resolution, which lays out spending and revenue targets for the year ahead, and Republicans repeatedly highlight the fact as they hammer Obama's administration for failing to take a proactive approach to fiscal responsibility.
The Senate voted 99-0 against Obama's $3.8 trillion budget request, with Democrats stressing that the vote was unnecessary because lawmakers wrote spending caps into a deal agreed last summer to raise the nation's debt ceiling.
In March, the House of Representatives rejected Obama's budget proposal in a 414-0 vote.
The campaign of Mitt Romney, the Republican challenging Obama for the White House in November, immediately seized on Wednesday's vote as exposing Obama's "unserious" … [Read more...] about US Senate rejects budgets by Obama, Republicans